Pompeo in 2016 warned Trump would be an ‘authoritarian president’

Pompeo in 2016 warned Trump would be an ‘authoritarian president’

In March 2016, then-Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas issued a stark warning about Donald Trump.

Trump’s presidential campaign was rapidly gaining momentum and it was beginning to unnerve the Republican establishment. The real estate mogul had gone from a target of ridicule to a serious contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

At the time, Pompeo had endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for president. On the day of the Kansas caucus, Pompeo delivered remarks characterizing then-President Barack Obama as an “authoritarian” and warning Trump would be the same.

“I’m going to speak to you from the heart about what I believe is the best path forward for America,” Pompeo said, before going on to reference when Trump claimed if he ordered a soldier to commit a war crime the soldier would “go do it.”

Meanwhile, Pompeo continued to be critical of Trump along the campaign trail. In April, he told the the Capital-Journal in Topeka that Trump was “not a conservative believer,” and a few weeks later told CNN that a lot of Trump’s policies “don’t comport with my vision for how I represent Kansas.” By May, Pompeo endorsed Trump, albeit reluctantly.

Pompeo, an Army veteran, would go on to serve as CIA director under Trump before becoming secretary of state. He’s now one of Trump’s most loyal and trusted advisers, despite his past criticism of the commander-in-chief. Pompeo has reportedly been considering a Senate run in Kansas.

But the secretary of state is hardly the only senior member of Trump’s administration who’s been critical of the president in the past.

The president has turned a number of former critics into key allies, including lawmakers like GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who in 2015 referred to then-candidate Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot.” Today, Conway and Graham, much like Pompeo, are among the first to stand-by Trump when he sparks controversy with his rhetoric or policies.